The present invention relates to the general field of shelf support systems, with particular application to wall cladding which provides a shelf support system.
Hitherto it has been known to provide wall panel systems which comprise a number of large square or rectangular panels, which are joined at the edges by vertical retaining strips, these retaining strips including a vertical channel or the like into which a shelf bracket can be affixed at any desired height. A problem is often encountered with such systems in that the shelf brackets must be in some way held at a particular position in the channel and be prevented from sliding down it, while still being adjustable as required. Furthermore, installation of such a system can present a number of difficulties. The spacing of the retaining strips is fairly rigidly prescribed by the width of the wall panels, and this spacing may be found inappropriate to a particular wall, taking into account the spacing between corners, and features such as pillars, windows or wall sockets. The two or more shelf brackets supporting any particular shelf must be positioned at the same height in the channel, and this may be difficult or time consuming to achieve. The spacing between channels may be inappropriate to the desired lengths of shelf, and while this problem is less likely to occur if the system uses narrower wall panels, and consequently increases the number of channels available, this solution increases the work required to install the system.
As illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,240--M. A. Strausheim 1987, it has been known to go partway towards overcoming these problems with the use of an extruded plastic panel having horizontal channels therein, which are flanged and shaped to retain shelving brackets in normal use. Such a system is however relatively expensive, and is more difficult to install on a wall surface than systems hitherto available. The span of the panel between adjacent channels is very limited, unless the plastic is thickened or otherwise braced in the intermediate zones, and the overall width of each panel is limited by the extrusion process. Furthermore in the system illustrated, a number of panels must be fitted together on "stiffener strips", which must then be attached by undisclosed means to a wall surface. The interconnected panels therefore in practice must be formed into a single large sheet, which presents many of the same installation difficulties as the panels described above.